


Blue Jay Heart

by MsKRyan_ox



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: F/M, Major League Baseball - Freeform, Romance, Toronto Blue Jays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8005495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsKRyan_ox/pseuds/MsKRyan_ox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Josh Donaldson unknowingly hooks up with the daughter of the one and only  John Gibbons thinking he will never see her again, how does he react when she's back in his life as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays corporation? Was their hook up a one time thing? Does John Gibbons ever find out about their past? And what does the mounting tension between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers have to do with this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

Chapter I

_The Best Kind of Love_  
_Is With the Most Unexpected Person…_  
_…At the Most Unexpected Time._

* * *

 

_It didn’t seem to matter to Josh Donaldson that they were one step closer to the World Series than he had been in his entire professional baseball career. It didn’t matter that they had just survived a brutal game five against the Texas Rangers that they could have lost. It didn’t matter that this, this was their only night to celebrate the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays were the 2015 ALEast Champs before they had to face the Kansas City Royals in two days times. All that seemed to matter to him was that after almost three years together Jillian called him out of the blue four weeks ago and just ended everything._

_“Come on,” Martin Russell chuckled at him, as he clutched at the third baseman’s shoulders, “This is our only real chance to celebrate before we’re back to having Gibbons in our ears.” Josh offered his friend the best smile that he could muster before taking another sip of his beer. He didn’t even want to be here, if he was really honest with himself; he just wanted to hole up in his hotel room for the night and forget about the world for a few hours._

_“Is this about Jillian,” Troy Tulowitzki asked, looking at the man he thought of as a close friend with a slight frown as he made to grab a couple of beers as yet another waitress passed by them, “’Cause man, I don’t know what to tell you. Well, actually, I mean, I do know what I could tell you, but I don’t think that you want to hear it.” Running a hand through his hair, Josh looked at the man sitting across from him._

_“I’m not in the mood for a rebound relationship, man,” Josh groaned, “I got to head down to Florida the first chance that I get to get my things or figure out the situation with the house-“_

_“I’m not talking a relationship,” Troy interrupted with a slight chuckle, “I’m talkin’ a hook-up, just a plain old one night stand with someone that you can just get under or get on top of and forget about Jillian for a coupl-“_

_“I don’t know, man,” Donaldson sighed once more, “What girl is going to want to deal with this mess? I just got out of a long term relationship with someone that I really loved and-“_

_“And I still don’t think you’re getting what I’m telling you,” Tulowitzki chuckled again, “It’s called a hook-up, a wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Go out onto that floor and find a good looking girl and go to her apartment or take her back to your hotel room if that’s what you want to do. No emotions, just sex.” Josh looked at his friend and team mate for a second before taking another sip of his beer. He was seriously thinking about what Tulowitzki was suggesting here._

_“What are the two of you talkin’ about,” an enthusiastic Martin Russell asked, pulling up a chair between the two._

_“Donaldson needs to find himself a girl,” Tulowitzki explained with a smirk playing on his lips._

_“Well,” Russell started as he began looking around the bar at some of the girls that found themselves a part of their celebration, “With how many girls that are here tonight that shouldn’t be a problem. I mean, there’s got to be like how many ballgirls here tonight dying to hook up with one of the ALEast Champs, baby!” Donaldson just shook his head as yet another chorus of ‘We are the Champions’ rang through the bar._

_“Not interested,” Donaldson answered with a grimace at the thought of hooking up with one of the girls that followed them around like it was the only thing they planned to do with their lives, “I got no interest in sleeping with some girl who’s main goal in life is sleep her way through every MLB roster. I don’t need to risk being with someone who has morals that loose.”_

_“No, my friend, that, that is exactly the type of girl you do need,” Martin answered as he continued to glance around the room, “Especially before you have to go and see Jillian. You don’t need something like this hanging over your head before you return to Florida and, oh! Her! You need to go after her.”_

_“Her, who,” Donaldson asked, looking in the direction that Kevin was pointing._

_“The red head,” Russell clarified once more, causing Tulowitzki to turn and look in the same direction._

_“Dude, there is like four red heads in that direction,” Troy sighed, “How is he, oh I know which one you’re talking about now. Yeah, man, you should definitely go for that one, looks like an easy target and who knows, you might even get a couple of days out of her before we have to fly to Kansas City and then, you’ll never have to see her again.” Donaldson continued to look in the direction that Martin was pointing, trying to figure out which red head his team mates were even talking about._

_“I don’t know who you’re-“_

_“The one wearing the Blue Jay hat and the Donaldson jersey,” Pillar said, coming up behind the third baseman, “Come on, even I could tell who they were talking about and I’m not even a part of the conversation. What are we talking about, anyways?”_

_“We’re finding Donaldson a girl that he can get under,” Martin answered, as he continued to watch the girl that they had in mind, “He really needs to get laid and I mean, he really needs to get laid.” Pillar shook his head as Josh made a swipe at Martin, while the latter started to laugh before he playfully shoved him in the direction of said girl. Taking the final swig of his beer, Donaldson slowly got to his feet and made his way towards the red head in question. His friends were right, he needed this and in a way, he needed her as well, even if it was, maybe, just for the night._

_“Um, uh,” José Bautista started coming to stand with some of his team mates, “He is aware that, that’s Gibbons daughter, right?”_

_“No, she isn’t,” Martin answered, “We’ve met Gibbons daughters, they both have brown hair like their mother. She’s got red…”_

_“Those are his younger daughters, that’s his eldest from his first marriage,” José answered, looking towards the woman he thought of as a little sister, “You know, the one that apparently only I’ve ever met because I’ve been a part of this team long enough to know the exact day that she got her first job as a MLB booking agent.” And with those final words, all of the Blue Jays responsible quickly began looking around the bar to try and find their now elusive team mate before he did something incredibly stupid like sleeping with the boss’ daughter._

_“Shit,” Pillar swore, “Shit, where is he?”_

_“I can’t see him,” Tulowitzki answered, “Fuck, Gibbons is going to kill us when he finds out what we’ve done, never mind what he’s going to do to Donaldson when he finds out what he’s done to his daughter.”_

_“If,” Martin supplied, still looking around the bar hopefully, “If he finds out…”_

_“If,” Tulowitzki repeated, still looking as well, “If is good…”_

* * *

 

_Five Months Later…_

* * *

 

“Daddy!”

Donaldson didn’t know what hit him. One moment, he was waiting for RA to pitch him a ball, so they could begin warming up for a little practice game when all of a sudden he was looking up at the bright blue Florida sky with the batting and pitching coaches, RA, José, Kevin, Troy and Martin all looking down at him. This had happened to him before. He was no stranger to being hit by pitches, but he usually saw it coming. He almost always saw it coming.

“You okay, man,” RA asked him, as he helped the younger man to his feet, “One minute you were ready and then, next I saw you, you were on the ground and Gibbons and his daughter are running inside to get George, but-“

“Daughter,” Donaldson repeated, looking around the large group that had gathered around him, “I-I thought I, red hair, she-“

“Yeah,” Tulowitzki sighed, scratching the back of his head as he realized what made his team mate lose concentration at a vital moment, “We’ve kind of been meaning to tell you something. We didn’t want to tell you that, uh, well, that, you, uh, how do I put this lightly-“

“You wouldn’t have had to put it lightly if you had just told him earlier,” Bautista muttered under his breath with a slight shake of his head. He couldn’t believe it. What was she doing here? They were already holding on by a thread as it was with keeping this secret from Gibbons, seeing as it could unravel the moment that she showed up and seeing as she is the daughter of the ball team’s manager, it could happen at the most inopportune of times.

“I told you we should have told him on the flight to Kansas City,” Kevin added in, looking straight at Troy, “That way he could have made it right, he could have sent her flowers or something-“

“Why would I send whoever you’re talking about flowers,” Josh interrupted, looking at his fellow team mates in complete confusion, “What are you even talking about?”

“Well, um, well,” Martin stuttered, “You see the night that we, uh, we kind of talked you into having that one night stand to get over Jillian, well-“

“Just tell him,” José prompted, “He’s going to find out eventually and if you just tell him before he finds out, you might actually be able to keep Gibbons’ from benching him on principal.”

“What does Gibbons have to do with this,” Josh interjected once more, “And why would he bench me on principal?”

“She’s Gibbons’ daughter,” Troy finally stated, much to the confusion of his friend who just continued to look at him as he awaited an explanation.

“The girl that Martin chose-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Russell interrupted, looking at the taller Blue Jays with wide eyes, “I may have picked her out of the crowd, but at any point, he could have chosen someone different.”

“Anyways,” Troy continued with a slight roll of his eyes, “The girl that you left with and spent the better part of the next two days with in your hotel room, that girl, that girl is Gibbons’ daughter and she’s here. Right now.”

“Shit,” Donaldson swore, “Fuck, fuck! He’s going to kill me.”

“Hey,” Martin interrupted, trying to remain optimistic, “He hasn’t killed you yet. He obviously doesn’t know that you slept with her or that anything between the two of you even happened, so, who knows maybe she didn't say anything to him."

“If you were a girl would you want to tell your dad about your latest hook up with someone who might as well be one of his employees,” José countered with a shake of his head, “Plus, I wouldn't even want to know about it, if it came to my little girls. The only way that-“ José quickly shut his mouth the moment that he saw Gibbons and his daughter accompanied by a couple people from the medical staff make their way out onto the field. If they had any hope at all of keeping this a secret from John Gibbons, they were better off not talking about while he was around. Following José’s lead, the others quickly grew quiet as well as the three in question grew closer to the huddled group.

“Alright, son,” George said, as he came to stand in front of Josh, “Let me take a look at you. John said that it looked like you-“

“I’m fine,” the baseball player insisted, gently pushing the attending medic out of the way, “I just got-“

“John said you took a ball to the head, son,” George tried again, insisting that he at least take a look at the third baseman despite his refusal. Donaldson shook his head once more. The last thing he wanted to do right now was being picked and prodded at by George, while he was trying to wrap his mind about what he had just heard. Gibbons’ daughter? Where had his friends been before he ended up in this mess?

“Oh right,” he mumbled to himself, “Getting you into this mess…”

George continued to watch him. To the attending medic, he looked fine, but he definitely wasn’t acting it. In fact, the third baseman was trying his absolute best and almost miserably failing to not make eye contact with John Gibbons as he continued to watch the reluctant assessment of last season’s MVP and when Josh wasn’t making unwilling eye contact with the team’s manager, his eyes were shifting towards where the managers daughter stood trying her best not to look at him at the same time that he looked at her. Interesting…

“He looks to be okay, John,” George said, his eyes still locked on the third baseman, “I’d let him take a ten to get his head back on straight and then you can resume practice.”

“Thanks George,” John chuckled, clapping the medic on the back before turning to face the team as they gathered around, “Glad you’re okay, son.” Josh nodded, still trying not to make eye contact with the older man. The last thing he wanted to do was tip him off to the fact that he had slept with his daughter before their failing attempt against the Kansas City Royals. José was right, the manager would bench him on principal even if it meant coming in last for the 2016 season.

“And since you’re all here, I’ve got an announcement for you all,” John continued, a smile spreading across his face, “As of this morning, we have a new member on the road staff as well as a part of the corporate booking team and I want you all to think of her as a…little sister.” Josh grimaced at the thought. If he was right in guessing who was the new member of the staff was, what he did a little over five months ago was not something one did to one’s little sister.

“She’s here to make your road life easier, but most of all, she’s here to make sure that we make every event that corporate books us at,” John continued once more, looking around the team as one by one all of their eyes landed on the five foot three red head standing slightly behind him, “I’d like to introduce to you my daughter, Jocelyn.” The small red head waved at the team, a large smile spreading across her face.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Jocelyn started, trying to keep her shining brown eyes from landing on Josh too long, “Now some of you might already know me depending on how long you’ve been a part of this team. Hi José-“ Some of the team laughed as José offered her a smile and a wave.

“So, you will know me as John Gibbons’ eldest daughter. If you haven’t been a part of this team very long, than you might know me-“

Donaldson held his breath as hoped to everything that was holy in this world that she didn’t come out and say what five of them already knew.

“That as of you winning the AL East Championship, as the former road agent for the Texas Rangers,” Jocelyn chuckled as a series of boos could be heard from the team, “And if you don’t know me because of that, you might know as the road agent that got fired by the Rangers corporation for fraternizing with the players or as the ex-girlfriend of Sam Dyson.” Once again a chorus of boos emitted from the team, causing a joyous like laugh to escape past her cherry red lips.

“Yeah, yeah, no one likes the Texas Rangers, join the club boys,” Jocelyn continued to laugh, “Like my dad said I am here to make your road life easier; that however does not include finding you bars, finding you women or being someone to warm your bed.” Despite the laughter that once emitted from her lips, the team could tell that her tone had taken a change for the serious.

“It is not my job to keep you boys out of the tabloids, I will leave that to your personal agents, but it is my job to make sure you boys have a safe place to sleep, good food to eat, plenty of hydration, somewhere you can keep your clothes in pristine condition and that the only way this ball club looks bad is because of you boys losing,” she explained to them, “It is also my job to make sure that you attend every corporate function or event that this team is booked at, it’s also my job to book those events, so please make my job easy by always keeping a suit, a comb and smile handy. And I will preface our time together with this; I am not your mother, your wife or your girlfriend, but while you are on this team or on the road, I am your keeper and if you make my life easy, I make yours the same. Now, who’s ready to play ball?” For a moment, the team looked at her completely dumbfounded. For someone who looked to be shorter than all of them, even if she wore heels, she looked like someone who had no qualms about putting them back in line if her father didn’t beat her to the punch.

“You heard her,” John chuckled, looking around at the team, “Who’s ready to play ball?” With smiles on their faces, the Blue Jays took to the field of the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. This was definitely going to be an interesting season.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a Blue Jays fan of twenty years, it was only a matter of time before my muse got a hold of the boys. Had this running around in my head since I saw them sweep the Twins last month. Your Future, My Past is still a priority, but this will probably get a few updates. Hope you enjoy it!


	2. II

Chapter II

_This is our common ground…_  
_The secret we share…_  
 _But, can almost never speak aloud._

* * *

 

Jocelyn ran a perfectly manicured hand through her long hair in absolute relief. It had been a long, hot, tiring day in the Florida sun, but thankfully it had been without incident, if she didn’t count Josh Donaldson getting hit by a pitch the moment she had arrived. Jocelyn grimaced at the recent memory. It hadn’t been her intention to sleep with him all those months ago; in fact, she probably wouldn’t have if she hadn’t gotten into a screaming match with Sam Dyson outside of the Rangers locker room after she had been unceremoniously fired in front of the entire team. A few hours and too many drinks later and here she was keeping a secret from her father, something she never did before, and repeating the same damn mistake she made while working for the Rangers Corporation.

“So,” the familiar voice of the third baseman started, “You’re Gibbons daughter. Didn’t think that was something worth mentioning during our two days together, Jocelyn?”

“In my defence, Josh, guys like you usually get weird when I mention who my father is,” the red head responded as she turned to look at the Florida native, “And we both knew what it was; a rebound for you and a way for me to blow off a little steam after fighting with my ex. Sure, it last two days, but why bring our back stories into it if it was just sex?”

“Because if I knew that you were Gibbons’ daughter, I’d-”

“You’d what, Josh,” Jocelyn countered, “Would have chosen someone different? Would have kicked me out of your hotel room or would you have just spent one day with me instead of two?”

“I don’t know,” Donaldson answered shooting her a very pointed look, “But, I think I had a right to know that I was sleeping with a manager’s daughter or that said daughter was working for the team’s corporation…” Jocelyn’s eyes didn’t waver from Josh’s as they continued to stare at one another in silence.

“This job with the Blue Jays is relatively new,” Jocelyn explained, as she made to lean against the car behind her, “I was essentially unemployed the night we met, if that helps any…”

“Some,” Josh answered, leaning the car that was parked beside the one she was leaning on, “It would have helped a lot more if you had told me that you were Gibbons’ daughter. I don’t think you understand that I’m between a rock and a hard place here.”

“Trust me, I do,” the Texas native sighed in response, “I was fired for fraternising with a player, remember?” Josh nodded and looked down at his feet. They were at an impasse. Both of them had a lot to lose if their secret got out anymore than it already had. Knowing what her father could be like when it came to her and her half sisters, Jocelyn knew that Josh could quite possibly lose out on a lot of playing time in the 2016 season and by what Jocelyn was telling him, Josh got the impression that it was very likely she could be fired if corporate found out about their past encounter.

“What should we do,” he asked her, scratching the back of his head.

“We do better than we did today,” Jocelyn answered, her eyes going slightly misty as she did, “We can’t be afraid to make eye contact with one another; a couple days of passion five months ago doesn’t mean we’re going to start tearing each other’s clothes off the moment that we lock eyes.”

“And we’ll definitely have to get comfortable seeing one another on a somewhat daily basis,” Josh added, “If we keep acting like something happened, then people are going to come to the conclusion that something did happen and they wouldn’t be wrong.”

“I know.”

“And, uh, can you do me a favour?”

“Sure,” Jocelyn answered, looking up at the third baseman curiously.

“Just when you, when you need to wear a jersey of a team member,” he started to explain nervously. He didn’t want to take what he was going to say the wrong way, especially after they had finally gotten on the same page.

“When you need to wear a jersey or whatever for some of the stuff that we do,” Josh continued, trying his best to keep eye contact with her, “Can you, uh, not and this is not because I didn’t think you looked good in it or anything, I just-“

“Say what you want to say, Josh,” Jocelyn prompted him gently.

“Can you not wear my jersey until things become comfortable between us,” he asked her, “And like I said, it’s not because you didn’t look good in it. It’s because if you do wear it, all I’m going to be able to think about is our two days together since that was all you wore at one point. And I don’t think the result is a good thing, especially in front of your father.” Jocelyn couldn’t help the small laugh that passed through her lips.

“Yeah, I think I can manage that for you,” Jocelyn chuckled, “If you can manage something for me…” Josh looked up at her for a moment before nodding.

“I’ve been around baseball players enough to know they talk, so, just don’t tell anyone about what…” Jocelyn trailed off as she saw Josh cast his eyes downwards, “Who already knows?” Josh stayed silent for a moment as his eyes stayed on his shoes. He could tell that by the tone in her voice she was worried.

“Just the guys that I was with that night-“

“You were the entire team that night-“

“Well, yeah, but only a handful of them actually know what happened,” he explained to her calmly, “And they only know because they had to quite literally talk me into going over to you.”

“Who knows, Josh?”

“Pillar-“

“Okay…”

“Tulowitzki.”

“Hmm.”

“Martin.”

“Alright.”

“And, uh, Bautista.”

Jocelyn looked at Josh with wide eyes. Jose knew about the beginning of these events all of those months ago and Josh hadn’t been aware of the fact that she was the daughter of the Blue Jays’ manager until she showed up. It just didn’t make a lot of sense to her. If Jose was aware of what happened, then why was the man standing in front of her, so damn surprised to find out that she was John Gibbons’ daughter? Was Josh lying to her about knowing? Did he regret what happened and now to save his own ass, he was trying to keep things friendly between them? It just wasn’t adding up.

“I got to go,” she told the man standing in front of her, “I told my Dad, I’d meet him back at the hotel. So, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, uh,” Josh answered, slightly bewildered by her sudden change in behaviour, “See you tomorrow.” With a slight wave, Jocelyn got into her car and pulled out once she was sure that Josh was safely out of the way. Neither one of them noticed the man watching them from a couple yards away.

* * *

 

“So,” Tulowitzki started, making Donaldson give him a weary look, “You and the new girl…”

“Troy,” the third baseman warned, “Don’t.”

“I’m just saying I saw you and Jocelyn having a little moment out in the parking lot earlier after practice was finished, was it a nice moment or-“

“We were just talking about what the hell this thing is and what we’re going to do about it,” Donaldson explained, with a slight roll of his eyes, “We needed to get on some common ground if we don’t want anyone, _who already doesn’t know about this_ , to find out about this. I can’t risk Gibbons benching me and I definitely don’t want to give him a reason to find a reason to _suspend_ me.”

“And Jocelyn,” Troy asked, “What about her? What does she want out of this?”

“She _doesn’t_ want to get fired for _fraternizing with the players_ again,” Josh shrugged, looking down at the bar top in front of them, “Plus I don’t think she wants to have her _daddy_ angry with her for sleeping with one of his players or to get a reputation of sleeping with the guys that she’s technically supposed to be in charge of while out on the road. One guy, you can call it an accident. Two? I think that’s the starting of a pattern.” Troy shook his head as he swallowed the beer that was in his mouth before turning to look at the man he considered a friend.

“One’s an accident, two’s a coincidence and three’s a pattern, so the guy after you would be more of an issue,” he answered, with a slight smirk starting to play on his lips as he did, “Which would mean, technically, if you were to, oh, I don’t know, invite her out to dinner – wine and dine her on your dime instead of the company’s dime, maybe you wouldn’t have to worry so much about Gibbons finding out if he thought you were doing things right.”

“You heard him today,” Josh argued, looking at the infielder pointedly, “He wants us all to think of her like a little sister and I don’t think dating her is thinking of her like a little sister…”

“Yeah, well,” Troy shrugged at him with the smirk still on his lips, “It’s kind of hard to think about someone like they were a little sister when you oh, I don’t know, slept with her.”

“Be quiet,” Josh snapped at the other Blue Jay as he tossed some peanuts at him, “I told you we don’t want anyone to find out, okay? And it was a onetime deal, how many months ago?”

“That lasted how many days again, my friend,” Troy asked, his smirk growing more and more evident on his face, “Oh, that’s right, two days; two whole days. Come on, Donaldson, there must have been something about her that you liked enough to spend two whole days with her. You even had a spring in your step the next time that we saw you.” Josh turned his head as he thought back to those two days. His friend was right. There was something about Jocelyn that he liked, even if he did put aside the fact that he liked the way she looked wearing his jersey and the way it fell just north of her knees.

“Come on, man,” Troy prompted jokingly, “Tell me, I was right.”

“Fuck off,” Josh responded; flipping one of his middle fingers at the taller man, “I’m not saying anything of the sort especially since it was you, Martin and Pillar that got me into this damn mess in the first place and fuck Bautista too for not telling me sooner.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m not thanking you either.”

“I know, that’s quite rude, you know,” Troy teased, looking at his friend cheekily before taking another sip of the beer that sat in front of him, “I mean you haven’t even thanked Martin for his part in all of this.”

“For good reason,” Josh mumbled under his breath as he continued to looked at his friend grumpily, “It’s because of him that I even walked over to her or even started talking to her-“

“Or even fell in love with her,” Troy asked, looking at his friend with a slight amused look on his face.

“What the fuck are you talking about,” Josh asked, looking at his friend in absolute confusion, “Love?”

“You couldn’t even look at her when Gibbons introduced her to the team.”

“For good reason,” Josh answered again, “I spend this amazing two days with this girl and she completely understands that nothing is going to come from it. She _doesn’t_ want anything to come from it and then, she leaves, doesn’t even bother to leave her number because she knows I won’t call and we both go about our lives like we were never even part of the other’s.”

“Did you miss her,” Troy teased once more, but Josh didn’t even bother looking up at him.

“And just as one of the most important seasons of my career starts, she shows up,” Josh continued, not even dignifying his friend with a response, “Not because she’s pregnant – that’s something that I could have dealt with. No, she shows because she’s the daughter of the team’s manager and because she’s now going to be the team’s new road agent. What the actual fuck would you do if you were in my position?”

“Ah, but I’m not,” Tulowitzki answered with a slight chuckle, “You are, and what you shouldn’t be doing is avoiding this. You just said it yourself, if Jocelyn had ended up pregnant that would have been something that you would have been able to deal with…”

“Is that the only thing that you took from what I said,” Josh asked, looking at his friend before shaking his head, “And yes, that’s something I could deal with. I have no problem stepping up and taking responsibility for my mis-for something that I had a part in.” Troy turned to look at his friend with an expression that made Josh feel a little uneasy; it was almost like Troy was looking right through him. He didn’t want to admit it, but when Troy had asked him if he had missed her, he had.

There was something about Jocelyn that made him miss her. She didn’t want to talk baseball, though it was evident to him even then, that baseball was a very big part of her life – he just didn’t know how big. She didn’t want to know his life story or even acted like she knew him at all. She talked to him about things that to anybody else almost wouldn’t matter, but she acted like they did. She even listened to him talk about Jillian, she didn’t have to, but she did.

“Uh oh,” Troy whistled quietly, as he turned to look at the entrance of the bar.

“What?”

“Look who just walked in…”

Turning around, Josh turned to look at the entrance as well. And what he saw made him feel slightly unsettled. Jocelyn had just walked in with her father and someone else that he didn’t recognize, but the only thought that ran through his mind was how he definitely didn’t like the way she was leaning into the man’s side.

“Who’s that,” he growled, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

“Oh yeah,” Troy chuckled under his breath, “Yeah, you don’t like her at all…”

“Shut up…” Josh groaned, as he dropped his face into his hands, “For once in the time that I’ve known you, just shut up.”

* * *

 

Jocelyn cringed inwardly the moment that she spotted Josh and Troy sitting in the exact same bar that her father had insisted that the two of them and one of the only three constant men in her life besides her father and step-father that she could depend on go and have a couple of drinks to celebrate her new job. She still hadn’t had a chance to mentally go over the conversation she had with Josh earlier in the day and here he was, sitting in the same bar that they were about to enter.

“Let me guess,” the man standing beside her asked, “That’s him.”

“Yep,” Jocelyn whispered, “That’s him, Dove.” The tall blonde cast a quick look in the direction of where the two baseball players were sitting before turning back to her a slight smile on his face. And Jocelyn knew exactly what the look meant. If there was anybody that she could read better than any of her half siblings, it was Dove. She had known him since before she even knew how to walk.

“Don’t say it…”

“Why,” Dove asked her sounding as innocently as he could as he threw an arm around her shoulders, “Afraid to admit that it’s true…”

“No,” Jocelyn answered, rolling her eyes as she did, “I already told you what I thought of him when I told you what happened five months ago, but this time, it’s different, and I’m not saying it out loud again.”

“Why because we’re with your father…”

“Yes,” Jocelyn answered through gritted teeth, “And because I now work with him, D. This is a very different situation than the one with the Rangers-“

“Doll,” Dove chuckled quietly, as he tried not to alert her father to their hushed conversation, “This is no different than what happened with that idiot Dyson and the Rangers; it’s just this time your father also works for the same team and just admit it, you like him.”

“I will do no such thing,” Jocelyn vehemently denied, through gritted teeth once more, “’Cause, it’s not true.”

“Oh so, you’ll have no problem if I go over there-“

“I don’t think you’re his type, Dove,” Jocelyn answered with a shake of her head as her best friend jokingly made to go over to where Josh and Troy were sitting.

“Hmm, what about the taller one,” Dove asked, as he pressed a small kiss into her hair, “Am I his type?”

“Married…” Jocelyn chuckled with a shake of her head, “To a woman,”

“With children,” Dove asked, causing Jocelyn to jokingly look at him scandalised, “What? You know people aren’t really married unless they have children.”

“According to you and luckily for him,” Jocelyn answered, a slight smile beginning to play on her lips,  “Because I have a feeling neither one of them or any of the other Blue Jays would know how to deal with you and your special brand of flirting, that yes, he does have a child.”

“Damn,” Dove swore just loud enough for Jocelyn’s father to turn and look at them curiously, “All of the good ones are always straight.”

“Funny, ‘cause we say the exact opposite…”

“And just what are the two of you giggling about,” John asked, turning to you, “It’s not nice to keep secrets, you know, especially from your father, Jocelyn Marie-Ann Gibbons.”

“Sorry Daddy,” Jocelyn answered, looking slightly sheepish at her father’s use of her full name, “It just hasn’t been the same since Dove left me all by myself in Arlington to go to Strayer University to get his Master’s in Human Resources, so we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Mhmm,” John answered, looking between his daughter and her best friend since before elementary school, “You’re lucky that I want no idea what the two of you are even talk-oh, look there’s Donaldson and Tulowitzki, let’s go say hi, I’ve got something that I want to ask them.” Jocelyn’s eyes went wide as she watched her father slowly make his way towards the two team mates in question. She couldn’t believe that her own father knew _already._ He just couldn’t know and he definitely couldn’t make a scene like the one she figured would happen in this bar with this many witnesses.

“Shoot me,” she whispered to Dove, “I know you carrying, so please, please just shoot me. I’ll forgive you, but just do it. Now.” Chuckling at his best friend in the entire world, Dove threw his arm over her shoulders and began to lead her over to where her father was now standing and chatting to the two players.

“I’m serious,” she whispered as they got closer.

“I know,” Dove whispered, “And that’s what scares me. Talk to him Joce or I will.” Jocelyn shot her friend a glare before putting on a fake smile that could make a pageant Queen believe it was real and walked over to where her father was with her head held high.

“There’s my girl,” John said, as she walked towards them, “I was just telling these two about how you’re refusing to stay with me and are currently rooming at the Beso Del Sol-“

“I’m not staying there to have fun, Daddy,” Jocelyn argued weakly, ready to almost give up arguing with him about it entirely, “I’m staying there because I really don’t want to be living with my father again. I stayed in the college dorms for a reason, Daddy, and I really don’t want to relive that conversation.”

“Anyways, like I was saying,” John started, waving off the last part of his daughter’s statement, “Since I’m going to be busy finding ways to whip these boys into Pennant shape, I’m not going to have a lot of time to show you around-“

“It’s okay, Daddy,” Jocelyn answered, “Dove can-“

“I’ve got final exams remember, sweetheart,” Dove answered, playfully nuzzling the inside of her neck as he did. Pushing him away from her, Jocelyn just shook her head as she prayed to anyone who might have been listening that maybe, just maybe her father wouldn’t suggest what he was about to suggest.

“I was thinking,” John tried again, trying to laugh at his daughter’s best friend’s antics, “That one of you would maybe look out for her and show her around when you’re not practicing.”

“Sorry, John,” Troy answered quickly, “Not sure, I’ll have much time since the wife and son will be joining us in a couple of days, but Donaldson, he could do it, it’s not like he’s busy or anything.” Both Jocelyn and Josh fixed the California native with a look as John contemplated what he said. While Dove just look at him and smiled. It was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship if he had anything to say about it

“What you say, Donaldson,” John asked, “It would really mean a lot to me and I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think I could trust you with her…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Donaldson will say? And does John know about the transgressions? Will Tulowitzki and Dove find a way to bring these two together? Let me know what you think. xo


	3. III

Chapter III

_The more you get to know someone…  
The more attractive they become to you…_

* * *

 

“Sure,” Josh answered before he thought through what he was actually saying and agreeing to. Sure, it was nice to hear that John trusted him with his daughter and to know that it meant a lot to the manager if he did do this, but spending a lot of time with the red head meant that there would be more of a chance of their mistake repeating and even worse, somebody finding out about said mistake. But, Josh didn’t care about any of that. He cared about being the one that showed her around his native state, being the one that saw her outside of practices, being the one that would keep her away from the other players; the players that wanted to say they had slept with the General Manager’s daughter. The ones that didn’t care if she got fired because she let her heart lead the way rather than her brain; at least that’s what a large part of him was hoping when it came to things between her and him.

“See, Jocelyn,” John chuckled, offering Josh a hand to shake, “Now, I don’t have to worry about you getting lost in a city that you don’t know or ending up on the side of a road in that beat up old car of yours that, sweetheart, why don’t you just let me buy you a new one?”

“Because I love that car,” Jocelyn answered, with a slight shake of her head, “And thanks for making me feel like I need a babysitter, Daddy, it’s not like I’m twenty-eight or anything, oh, wait, I am.” John looked at his eldest daughter unimpressed before turning his look towards the university student and two baseball players that were trying to cover up their laughter with a slew of fake coughs.

“And that, my dear, is why Julie was afraid to let you babysit your sisters when you were younger,” John answered, shaking a finger at her, “What am I going to do with that attitude of yours?”

“Nothing,” Jocelyn answered, a smile crossing her face as she grabbed a hold of the finger that her father was waving at her, “You love my attitude problem and wouldn’t have me any other way.”

“Your little attitude problem is going to get you in trouble one of these days,” John mumbled under his breath as he turned to look at the other three people with them, “Or worse, it’s going to get Donaldson in trouble and he won’t know what to do with you. I’m serious, though, son, take care of her for me. She means the world to me.”

“Of course, sir,” the third baseman answered, a slight smile on his face as he did. On the inside though, that smile was anything, but. He hated the fact that he was lying to a man that just admitted he trusted him with one of the most precious things in the world to him. John had no idea just how much he shouldn’t trust Josh with his daughter, but what could he do now?

“So, we’ll leave you to your drinks, boys,” John chuckled, offering his hand once more to the two baseball players, “My daughter, her best friend and I have plans to celebrate and you boys need to get up early for practice.” Josh watched as Jocelyn walked away with her father, not bothering to spare him a second glance until they were on the other side of the bar altogether. The look in her eyes clearly saying she had no idea what he was doing agreeing to her father’s request and they would definitely be talking when they had a moment alone.

“So,” Troy started, fixing his friend with an amused look.

“Don’t,” Josh warned once more, “I’m serious, don’t.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Troy chuckled, taking a sip of the beer that still sat in front of him.

“Yet,” Josh finished for him, “You’re not doing anything yet.”

“I was just going to say that for someone who doesn’t want anyone to find out about what happened with Jocelyn, you did agree awfully quick to Gibbons’ request,” Troy commented, still looking at Josh with an amused look on his face, “And for someone who doesn’t want _Gibbons’_ finding out about what happened between the two of you, you did like having eye sex with his daughter right in front of him.”

“We didn’t have eye sex,” Josh argued feebly, causing Troy to look at him pointedly, “We didn’t. We were just trying to figure out what he was going to do.”

“Uh huh,” Troy answered, sipping his beer once more, “If that’s the story that you want to go with because I’m telling you right now that I saw the look on your face when that Dove guy started nuzzling her neck and I saw the way she looked at you just now. The two of you had me turned on and I was just sitting here.” Donaldson looked at his team mate unimpressed.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” the Florida native assured the Californian.

“Yeah, okay, if that’s what you want to believe,” Troy chuckled, “Because I’m telling you right now, when something does happen, and notice I said when not if, when something does happen between the two of you, I’m calling being your best man right now.”

“Best man,” Josh repeated, looking at Troy in complete and utter confusion, “What the fuck are you going on about being my best man for? And nothing is going to happen between Jocelyn and I. Like I said before they came over here, that thing between her and I was a onetime deal and that’s it.”

“And I’m going to repeat what I said to you, my friend,” Troy chuckled, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “It lasted how many days again? Two, and like I said before, you don’t spend two days with someone and not feel something for them. Even if she started out as rebound for you, she didn’t stay there for very long.” Josh let Troy’s words wash over him. He was right, but be damned, Josh wasn’t going to let him know that.

“Come on,” Troy chuckled, interrupting Josh’s train of thought, “Admit that I was right and I’ll let it go.”

“Fuck off,” Josh answered, a smile gracing his lips.

* * *

 

“I cannot believe that you agreed to this,” Jocelyn told Josh the moment that she opened up the door to her hotel room to let him inside, “I mean, I thought we came to an agreement. We weren’t going to let anybody, _who doesn’t already know_ , find out about this. And you’re big plan on making sure that nobody does is to spend _more_ time together. How does that work, Josh?” Blue eyes met brown as Josh shrugged.

“I didn’t know what I was doing until I did it, okay,” Josh answered, trying to keep a smile from creeping up on his face at the look on hers, “One minute your father is telling me that he trusts me and that it would mean the world to him if I helped him out and then the next, I’m agreeing to looking out for you.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t need a babysitter thank you very much,” Jocelyn answered, fixing him with a pointed look, “And you know, thank you for agreeing to show me around town, but I-“

“You don’t need a babysitter, I know,” Josh finished for her, “Just think of it this way, I’m not staying too far from here and we’re just carpooling. It’ll save gas and no one will think anything of it. But, uh, just stay away from Troy for a little bit.”

“Why?”

“Because his mouth is too big for his face,” Josh grumbled, earning a confused look from the red head standing in front of him, “He’s convinced that there’s something between you and me-“

“Well, there is,” Jocelyn answered, “A pretty big secret that you know could get me fired and could get you traded when this team really needs you. I know my dad, Josh, if he finds out about this, it won’t be good. He’ll freak. He almost killed Dyson when I brought him home the first time and well, now, thinking back, I probably should have let him, but at the time I was thinking with my heart instead of my brain.”

“Oh, you mean, like I was the night we met,” Josh chuckled.

“You didn’t know and I don’t think it was your heart that you were thinking with, I think that appendage is slightly lower,” Jocelyn answered, “Plus, I wasn’t exactly honest with you about why I was at the after party and who my father was either.” Josh nodded as an uneasy silence settled between them.

“I’m sorry I agreed to this,” Josh started, trying to break the silence slightly, “I mean, you’re obviously not comfortable and you are right, the team is going to talk and with Troy and his big mouth-“

“You never really elaborated on that,” Jocelyn interrupted, “You just said that he was convinced that there was something between us.”

“Well,” Josh started, “He and I were talking last night before you, your father and, uh-“

“Dove,” Jocelyn finished for him, a slightly curious look coming across at why he had an issue talking about Dove.

“Yeah him, uh we were talking about what happened and well, he pretty much knows everything that happened because like you said baseball players talk-“

“He knows everything,” Jocelyn asked, “Like you mean-“

“He doesn’t know the real dirty details,” Josh clarified for her, “But, he pretty much knows everything else and well, he took some of the stuff that happened yesterday with you and I having our talk after practice, to the fact that I couldn’t make eye contact with you when your father introduced you to the team, to the fact that we probably made a little too much eye contact during last night’s conversation as not so subtle cues about there being something more between us.” Jocelyn looked at him wide eyed for a moment before laughter erupted from her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said trying to contain her laughter, “I don’t mean to laugh, but my best friend is actually convinced of the exact same thing. Dove was just like I have to talk to you because he thinks that there could be something and no offence to you, you’re a pretty great guy, but I cannot do that again. Dyson, he-“

“You never told me what he did,” Josh interrupted her, “I, uh, I mean, that night that I told you about Jillian and how she just called me out of the blue to end things, you, uh, you never told me about how things with you and Dyson ended.”

“Can I just give you the he’s a douchebag explanation,” Jocelyn asked, almost like it pained her to even talk about it. Josh thought about it for a moment seeing the look on her face. It was obviously that something to this day, how many months later, still very much bothered her and part of him even doubted that her own father knew the whole story and the only person that did besides her and Dyson was Dove and that was because it looked like she told him everything.

“I’ll accept it,” he told her, “But, not for long.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re obviously still very hurt by it,” he told her, reaching out to grab her hand in his in a move that probably would have proved both Dove and Troy right if they had been around to see it, “And no matter what kind of hard shell you put around yourself, I’ll see the girl that when I told her about none of the coaches here in Florida believing that I would one day be a pro baseball player, I saw a tear roll down her cheek. And I saw the girl that when her phone rang and she saw the picture of her little sister staring up at her, she smiled and answered the call as quickly as she could even if my lips were attached it her neck.” Jocelyn looked up at him with glassy eyes and just as she leaned up to press her lips to his, she backed away just as quick.

“We should, uh, we should go,” she told him, grabbing a hold of the purse that sat on the table just beside them, “You need to get to practice and I need to start figuring out the corporate event schedule for spring training with my dad breathing down my neck to make sure there’s enough time to whip you boys into pennant shape.”

“He’s not going to let up on us, is he?”

“Nope,” Jocelyn chuckled as he led her out of her hotel room, “You thought he was bad last year, you boys only got a taste of what he’s capable of. You all got a taste of just how close you can get to the World Series, well now, he wants to get you boys there.”

* * *

 

Josh had no idea what to make of what had happened between him and Jocelyn earlier. She had looked like she was about to kiss him after his subtle confession, but she had backed away like the mere act of kissing him would strike her dead. Did he want her to kiss him though? Would he have let her? Probably. Would it have gone further or would it have just stopped at that? Unknown. Were Troy and Dove right? He knew on his part at least, that they were, no matter how much it actually pain him to admit it to himself, much less out loud and even much less to somebody else.

“You okay, man,” Pillar asked him, as he came to stand next to him, “You look like you’re in your own head already and practice hasn’t even started.”

“I am in my own head,” Josh answered, “I don’t want to be there, but I am.”

“What’s up?”

“I just, I just don’t know man,” Josh answered, trying not to give away the fact that everything he was feeling and was thinking had everything to do with a certain red head that was currently standing off to the side with her father talking in hushed voices about something he wasn’t all that sure of, “I’m just, her working here, now, and having to keep this from Gibbons-“

“It’s for the best man,” Pillar explained, sparing Josh a sympathetic glance, “Gibbons doesn’t have the best track record with players and yeah, we’re lucky to have him on our side and from what everyone’s been saying, we’re lucky to have her on our side too. I was talking to my buddy who used to play for the San Francisco Giants and she took pretty good care of them when worked with their corporation. She had some real unorthodox methods, but apparently it worked, right, they went to the World Series…”

“She’s got a ring,” Josh asked, looking at the center fielder in disbelief, “I can’t believe she didn’t mention that…”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure if she actually has a ring, but that’s not something that she’s going to care about right now,” Kevin answered, “And she might have done wonders with Giants when she was working with them, but then she went to the Rangers ‘cause they offered her a huge pay raise and they fucked it up. From what I’m being told Odor was the one that told the corporation about her and Dyson and then Dyson dumped her when he got wind of it from Beltre.”

“Why did Beltre tell him?”

“Because Bautista knew her before she worked with the MLB, they’re friends and have been for a long time, so he thinks of her like a little sister-“

“Yet he didn’t tell me who she was until after I got knocked out by Dickey yesterday…”

“In all fairness,” Kevin continued, as he started stretching, “That was a group decision. We didn’t want to tell you when we had to face the Royals and well, well all know how that ended and then, you had your own stuff to deal with, with Jillian and the apartment here, and the house in Alabama and the last thing we wanted to do was put crap on top of crap. But, anyways, Bautista asked Beltre to look out for her when she went to work for the Rangers last year, so he did by telling Dyson because Beltre didn’t have anything that would cause an unscheduled meeting with her, so instead of causing more suspicion, he spoke to his team mate, so he could tell her to get them both in front of it. It just so happened that, that team mate is a spineless, gutless weasel who left her take the brunt of it from the owners by dumping her in front of the entire team by saying he was using her ‘cause she was an easy, accessible lay that knew a thing or two about baseball.” Josh shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had seen several horrors in his childhood, but he still had a hard time believing that someone could do that to someone that they were supposed to care for, to someone that they said that they had loved.

“I just-wow.”

“Yeah,” Kevin sighed, looking towards where Jocelyn and John stood watching the team, “That’s probably why she came here instead of going to work for the Orioles.”

“She had an offer from the Orioles,” Josh asked, looking at his team mate in surprise.

“Oh yeah, a pretty big one too since you’re old friend Manny Machado apparently requested her personally when word got out that had been fired by the Rangers last October,” Pillar answered, chuckling quietly to himself as he head that growl that left Donaldson’s mouth, “And apparently, she didn’t even think twice about turning to down, but the moment that the offer from the Blue Jays came across her desk, she signed it without even a second thought. I guess having Daddy, Bautista and maybe even, you would make life a little easier for her since she’d have some kind of back up. Or at least she’d have two guys willing to deck their own team mates if they thought about trying to get fresh with her.” Josh tried not to think anything of what Kevin just said, but his friend was right.

“I guess that would make it easier,” Josh admitted, “I just, I mean, she knew that I was still signed to the Blue Jays, so she had to have known that things would be uneasy between the two of us.”

“Well, things don’t seem all that uneasy,” Kevin responded, an unnoticeable smirk playing on his lips as he did, “I saw that the two of you arrived together.”

“I’m just doin’ her Dad a favour,” Josh explained, trying not to rehash the conversation he had with Troy last night. The last thing he needed was for another team mate to think that despite the stressful situation between Jocelyn and him, a relationship would blossom.

“Uh huh,” Kevin chuckled, “Is that what you’re going to keep tellin’ yourself?”

“You already spoke to Tulowitzki?”

“Oh yeah,” Kevin chuckled once more, “He told Joey, Russ and I all about the eye sex you two were having right in front of her father last night while he was asking you to look out for her and I gotta say man, I gotta agree with him. If you started doing things right by taking her to dinner, Gibby won’t have much of a reason to hate you.”

“Except for the fact that I would be dating his daughter, the original Gibbons princess,” Josh shot back, “And that is something that I won’t be doing.”

“Uh huh.”

“Fuck off,” Josh sighed, getting really tired of having to say that to his team mates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this has been a long time coming, but I finally got the inspiration to finish this chapter and hopefully start the next one.
> 
> Is there something besides a secret between Josh and Jocelyn? Will Sam Dyson be facing some retribution at the hands of Josh Donaldson? Do Martin and Bautista think the same as Tulowitzki and Pillar? Will Gibbons find out about what happened all those months ago? And how do you think he would react even if he thought Donaldson was doing things right?
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> xo


	4. IV

Chapter IV

_Falling in love is like the rain..._  
_You can’t predict it…_  
_But, you can always see the signs of it…  
_ _…before it completely falls._

* * *

 

From the bleachers of the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, Jocelyn watched the team run through their drills in complete silence. There were a million and one thoughts running through her mind at the present moment and only about a quarter of them had to do with work and upcoming events. The other three quarters had everything to do with the current American League MVP that was in the process of putting on a clinic on how to hit home runs.

She had that coming; Jocelyn knew that much when she signed the contract with the Blue Jays. Working with him wasn’t going to be easy, especially since she hadn’t been able to successfully get him off her mind for more than a couple of days for the past five months. Every other guy just seemed to pale in comparison to how Josh had made her feel over the course of their two days together. Most guys never even made it past the first date let alone back to her apartment in the city after the fifth anymore. If she was really in the mood for honesty, she would say she hasn’t had an orgasm that didn’t have to be taken into her own hands or by her new favourite toy since that weekend.

“What’s up, Joss,” José asked, as he came to lean against the fence directly in front of her, “You look like your mind is going a hundred miles a minute…”

“I don’t know if I can do this,” the red head told the right fielder honestly as she shot another glance towards Josh which she hoped was hidden by her sunglasses.

“You’re one of the best road agents that I know,” José assured her, “And working with us will be a lot easier than working with the Rangers and you know that.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Jocelyn chuckled, really smiling for the first time since her father had left her to her own devices to whip the team back into season shape, “And I’m serious, Joey, I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Because you’re in love with him,” José concluded as he continued to watch her from behind his own sunglasses.

“No,” Jocelyn answered almost immediately, “Why does everyone keep saying that? Because I’m not. I just, I just don’t know if he’ll be able to take me seriously. Never mind if the ones who know about all of this will be able to take me seriously.”

“They’ll take you seriously if they want to win,” the right fielder assured her, “You’ve got the backing of the entire coaching team and the front office. Your accomplishments with Giants already made the rounds in the locker room…”

“They just wanted their pizza and beer back,” Jocelyn joked, as another smile appeared on her face, “I don’t even know if I’ll be able to repeat that kind of success. My methods sure as hell didn’t work the second year that I was with the Giants-“

“Odd year curse,” José shrugged off.

“And they definitely didn’t fucking work with the Rangers,” Jocelyn finished despite the interruption.

“Yeah, well, the Rangers have been choking in the post season since ’96,” José reminded her with a slight smirk playing on his lips as he did, “Well, when they made it there anyway. Look, Joss, all I’m going to say is that don’t let what has happened get into your head. You’re good at what you do and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. And as for being taken seriously? The guys on this team aren’t going to take advantage of you and they’re not going to use you like that scumbag did. They’d have to deal with Donaldson, Tulo, Pillar, Russ, Gibby and I if they so much as even think about it.”

“What do they have to do with this,” Jocelyn asked, looking at the older man in complete confusion.

“I know what I said and I know you know why I said it,” was all José said in response, “Now, are you going to tell me what happened that night or am I going to have to go out onto that field and weasel it out of Big Daddy?”

“Please don’t call him that,” Jocelyn grimaced at the name, “And I know how baseball players talk, so I’m sure-“

“I don’t want to hear about that,” José interrupted with a grimace of his own, “Jeez, Joss, you’re like a little sister to me, I don’t need to hear about you or my team mate like that in any capacity…”

“Then, why would you-“

“I want to know what Dyson could have said to you that night that would make you need to, what was it that Josh said, oh right, blow off a little steam.” Jocelyn sighed as she looked out onto the field where she could see Josh and Troy goofing around while they waited for their next chance at bat.

“After you guys won, Banister gave me the word that I had been fired. I was fine with that, I knew it was going to happen anyway once their season was over and I just wanted to get out of there, see my sisters, celebrate your win since I was no longer tied to their corporation,” Jocelyn started to explain, trying to keep as much malice out of her voice as possible, “I was walking past the locker room just as Sam was coming out and he makes some crack about it being my fault that they had lost, never mind, maybe he should have taken responsibility for his own actions – I mean, anyone who was actually watching knew Eddie was just trying to get the crowd to stop throwing shit and who the hell walks up to a guy on the other team and taps him on the ass when emotions are running that high?”

“Joss,” José started, trying to keep the red head on track.

“Right, sorry, anyways I turned around and told him that I felt sorry for Hamels because he was going to be credited with the loss because of him and that damn fast ball that I told him and Banister going into that game would be useless since you guys practically eat them every chance you get,” Jocelyn continued, trying to keep her anger level from rising as she thought back to the encounter, “And then said that maybe next time he should keep his hands to himself and listen to his road agent because we know what the hell we’re talking about. He got pissed and started yelling shit. I yelled back. Next thing I know Cole has me slung over his shoulder and he and Adriàn start walking me to where my father is waiting with Julie, the girls and Dove, while he’s being held back by the others to keep him from following us.” José watched her for a second before looking at her with a renewed sense of curiosity.

“What did he yell at you,” the Dominican asked, “I know you, Joss, you don’t yell unless you’re really angry, so what did he say that got you that riled up?”

“He said that no wonder my Dad left my Mom and found himself a new family, so he wouldn’t have to take responsibility for raising someone who was going to turn into just as big as a money-grubbing whore as his ex-wife was.”

“Come on, I know you, Joss,” José responded, “Someone insulting your mother wouldn’t set you off that badly.”

“He may have also implied that my sisters were going to end up on the same road that I’m on,” Jocelyn sighed, “Sleeping with athletes to make up for our lack of fatherly approval.”

* * *

 

Josh watched the quiet exchange between Jocelyn and José on the opposite side of the field with a scowl on his face. He knew that the right fielder thought of the new road agent as a little sister; that the older man was in love with a lovely woman with two beautiful daughters. He also knew that Jocelyn was still licking her wounds from what Dyson had said to her that night. But, he just couldn’t help the unintentional green monster that was rearing it’s ugly head in the depths of his blue eyes.

“Alright,” Russ chuckled as he stood on the outside of the cage, “Are you going to say something or am I going to have to ask?”

“Ask away,” Josh answered, as he tried to keep his concentration on swinging his bat and making the baseballs fly as far as he possibly could, “Its not like no one else around here knows how to keep their thoughts to themselves.”

“Jocelyn…”

“How did I know that you were going to start in on that,” Josh asked sarcastically, as another ball soared past him as his thoughts once again moved towards the red headed Texan.

“Because from what I’ve heard she’s been the word since she got here yesterday,” Russ chuckled, watching as the Alabama resident tried to get his mojo back, “And from what I heard last night from Tulo-“

“I knew his mouth was too big for his face,” Josh complained, as made to swing at another flying ball, “You need to take everything he says about Jocelyn and I with a grain of salt. In fact, don’t believe anything he says about it because its all a load of horse shit.”

“So, you’re not in love with her?”

The moment the question was out of Russ’ mouth, Josh had to duck as a baseball came flying at him. Why did his team mates always do these kinds of things, like ask questions that could easily break a man’s concentration and possibly end up getting him hurt.

“I don’t hear you protesting…”

“Because I’m doing it silently,” Josh responded sarcastically once more, “None of you are actually going to believe me when I tell you I’m not since it looks like you’ve all made up your minds on the matter.”

“All I’m sayin’ man is that if you are, it wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Russ tried to explain, “From what I understand from Joey is that she was a good kid who turned into a great woman who grew up knowing the hardships of having your significant other in our line of work.”

“Her parents hate each other,” Josh commented, remembering back to a small conversation that the two had shared all those months ago, “Hell, even she hates her mother.”

“Note to self; never bring up the former Mrs. Gibbons around Gibby or Jocelyn,” Russ chuckled, as he watched Josh step out of the batting cage, his concentration effectively broken by their conversation, “And just because her parents hate each other doesn’t mean things can’t work out between the two of you…”

“Oh, you mean, besides the fact that it is completely forbidden,” Josh responded, looking at Russ with a less than thrilled look from behind his sunglasses, “If the front office even finds out about what five months ago, she’s fired. No fraternizing with the players, a very strict no hands on policing. Never mind what Gibbons might do to me if he were to find out about it all. Remember how we’re talking about his daughter here?”

“I know, but the team would cover for you,” Russell supplied, as the two if them walked over to get some water, “Or at least some members of the team would and if Gibby thought you were doing things right-“

“Oh, hi Tulo, when did you start growing a beard,” Josh quipped, as yet another one of his team mates brought up the idea.

“He wouldn’t be so angry and it would be a cold day in hell before he would let his daughter get fired,” the Canadian continued despite Donaldson’s interruption, “’Cause if she was fired that would mean that the two of you could be together without so much as batting an eyelash and at least while she was workin’ here he can keep an eye on the two of you.” Josh was silent for a moment as he thought about what Martin had to say. The catcher was right. The Blue Jays were a much closer team than that of the Texas Rangers and him and Jocelyn would have their allies to keep things under wraps.

“All I’m sayin’ is I think you’re both overthinking this,” Russ continued, despite his friend’s silence, “ Gibbons could have found a way to look out for his daughter himself. He didn’t have to ask you to look out for her, he didn’t have to ask you to spend more time with her than you already will. If something were to happen at this point, he would think it was because of how much time the two of you will be spending together, not because something happened between the two of you five months ago.” Josh had to admit Russell had a point, but he just couldn’t bring himself to admit it out loud or anywhere besides in his head.

“Plus, if you don’t go there someone else will,” Russell continued trying to drive his point home, “And how are you going to react when she brings some guy around and that little green monster rears it’s little head again? Didn’t think I saw that, did ya?”

“Fuck off,” Josh responded once more albeit weakly this time. Russ was right, there was no other way to say it. If that green monster just came up when she was talking to a guy that he knew wouldn’t try anything, how the hell was he going react when she brought someone around that could make her smile the way he wanted to?

“I’m just saying, think about it, okay,” the Canadian finished, as he made to take his turn at bat, “I don’t want to see you get hurt just because you over thought it.”

* * *

 

“I-I don’t even know where to begin with this team, Dove,” Jocelyn sighed into the phone as she looked over the large mass of documents she had strewn across the coffee table, “These guys, from what I saw today and from what I can see on everything in front of me now, they’re already a fine oiled machine in parts.”

“ _And what about the parts that they aren’t_ ,” Dove asked, his voice slightly muffled since he had put her on speaker, “ _Is there anything that you can do there?”_

“By the look of it, it just comes down to either exhaustion, motivation or idiocy-“

“ _Idiocy_ ,” Dove repeated with a hint of humour in his voice, “ _You’re already boiling it down to idiocy and you haven’t even been officially workin’ for the Jays for an entire week._ ”

“I wasn’t calling them idiots and you know it,” Jocelyn chuckled as she took the phone away from her ear quickly putting it on speaker, “I’m calling some of the MLB officials idiots – Carapazza being the King.”

“ _No argument there_ ,” Dove answered, though the tone in his voice told his best friend that he didn’t know what she was talking about and wanted it left that way, “ _Now, what do you mean by motivation? Shouldn’t winning the Pennant be motivation enough?_ ”

“You would think,” Jocelyn grumbled, “Looks like I’m going to have to do what I did with Giants. No celebratory like drinks or food unless they’re actually winning. They’ll be eating the kind of shit my mother would make me eat when I was livin’ with her.”

“ _That is cruel and unusual punishment and you know it, Jossie, no one in history should be made to eat that much kale,_ ” Dove commented, though the laugh that followed told the road agent that he enjoyed the idea about as much as she would hate having to implement it.

“It worked, but that’s beside the point,” Jocelyn sighed, as she scratched the back of her head in frustration, “I have no idea how I’m going to get my Dad of all people to not eat the way he does when I start putting my foot down on the food.”

“ _Well, your Dad sure does like his hotdogs and pizza_ ,” Dove agreed with a slight chuckle, “ _You could always sick your step-mother on him. I’m sure, Ol’Jules would love it if you could get him to cut down on the crap junk._ ”

“I’m also sure that Momma Jules would love it if you stopped calling her Ol’Jules, but, hey, what do I know I’m only her step-daughter,” Jocelyn responded with a chuckle of her own, “And the day Dad gives up hot dogs and pizza is the day that I go back to work for the Rangers.”

“ _I wouldn’t say that if I were you_ ,” Dove joked, “ _Your Dad may surprise you one of these days. Now, there was a reason I called and you’re completely avoiding the subject. Did you talk to him?_ ”

“Dove, I’m not talking about this,” Jocelyn complained, “I have other things on my mind and I really, really don’t want to concentrate on this. The stuff with Josh and I needs to stay the way it is until I can figure out how to help my Dad whip these guys into Pennate shape and then, I have to figure out the corporate schedule for the team and-“

“ _And you know what will help you figure all of that out_?”

“Dove, I’m serious…”

“ _So, am I,_ ” Dove said into the phone seriously, “ _Talk to Josh, figure things out with him because I’m telling you right now all of the issues that you have with figuring out work will just go away once you de-cloud your lust and love filled mind._ ”

“If it were possible, I would reach through this phone and strangle you with your polo shirt collection,” Jocelyn groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose slightly as she did, “How many times do I have to tell you that I am not in love with him and that I am most definitely not lusting after him?”

“ _I think doth protest too much…_ ”

“And I think that you need to stop reading Shakespeare,” Jocelyn chuckled, “And maybe, focus on that exam you have.”

“ _What exam?_ ”

“You little liar,” Jocelyn exclaimed, “The next time I’m at your apartment I am going to put every single DVD you own in the wrong case.”

“ _You wouldn’t_ …”

“Try me.”

“ _You do that and I’ll, I’ll, I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll be forced to do something that you won’t like_ ,” Dove answered.

“Ooh, that sounds so damn threatening,” Jocelyn chuckled, shaking her head as she returned to looking at her notes, “I’m shakin’ in my boots.”

“ _Oh, fuck off will you,_ ” Dove sighed, “ _Now, when are you going to talk to him?_ ”

“Never if I can help it,” Jocelyn answered, as she made to pull her hair up into a messy ponytail, “But, since I doubt you’ll let that happen-“

“ _Damn right, I won’t_.”

“Then, I’m going to try and hold off until the end of this year’s season,” Jocelyn sighed, knowing that her plan would be the best course of action even if it meant she would have to deal with concentration issues until then, “And yes, that does include the post-season.”

“ _I don’t think that you’ll be able to get away with that_ ,” Dove argued, “ _But, good luck with that Jossie._ ”

“You’re such a great friend, Dove,” Jocelyn chuckled, “I have no idea what I would do without you.”

“ _You’d probably be sleeping your way through the MLB, NBA and NHL_ ,” Dove responded with a deep chuckle of his own, “ _’Cause we all know that it was thanks to my wonderful guidance that you didn’t take after the Devil’s Mistress._ ” If it weren’t for the knock at her door, Jocelyn probably would have burst into laughter.

“I’ll call you back in a bit, Dove,” Jocelyn informed her best friend, “Someone’s at the door.”

“ _If I don’t get a text from you in five minutes, I’ll call the authorities_ ,” Dove chuckled.

“Goodbye Dove.” Quickly hanging up her phone, Jocelyn got up to answer the door as the person on the other side of it made to knock for the third time. She had no idea who could be knocking on her door at this time of night.

“Josh,” Jocelyn asked in surprise as she came face to face with the third baseman, “What-what are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this one came much quicker than I thought it would, so please enjoy. 
> 
> What do you think Josh is doing at Jocelyn's hotel room? And just how will Jocelyn react when she finds out why he's there?
> 
> Don't forget to let me know what you think and have a Happy New Year!


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